Not at all what I expected. The story itself drifted a bit, and Tierney pushed the device of the unreliable narrator entirely too far. I found the prose to be too chatty (even more so than most first person urban fantasies), and some features came across as lazy (eg, Quinn repeatedly bringing up some detail from a previous scene with just a "I forgot to mention...", lampshading less-than-stellar prose and obvious plot devices, and raising and then immediately dismissing points without explanation or elaboration).

That being said, it was a quick read, and there were a couple of characters I enjoyed -- particularly Mean Mr. B. ( )

I had vague intentions of listening to more audio book editions of Caitlin Kiernan's novels. I started with this novel, one of my least favorite of hers, for a very geeky reason. I read Ms. Kiernan's acknowledgements at the end of Cherry Bomb and was surprised to learn that Amber Benson had read the first two Siobhan Quinn novels. I knew Ms. Benson from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played the sweetest lesbian imaginable. I bought the audiobook in part because I thought it would be fun to hear Tara cussing.

I got an undeserved treat. I'd started reading the Quinn novels because I wanted to be a Kiernan completist. I didn't let myself get much out of them, in part because I, a parochial school graduate, was put off by the language, and in part because Kiernan, in her comments about her intentions for the series, seem to downplay them as froth. Heck, Siobhan Quinn herself made fun of the book she was writing. Amber Benson's reading made me realize that I had read the book as a fool. She was the first reader in my brief acquaintance with audiobooks to make a story sound better than I thought it was. She made the wit witty, not vulgar, the cussing, poetic, the scenes of fantastic horror, awe inspiring. Good job. ( )

This is one of those books I really didn't know anything about except seeing a brief mention on a blog somewhere online. It sounded interesting and the library had it so I figured I would take a chance. I am glad I did.

Siobhan Quinn is just trying to get by. Running away from an abusive home and doing what she had to do to survive on the streets was enough. Then when her girlfriend is killed by a creature she learns that there are worse things that go bump in the night. Now a demon hunter with a heroin addiction she is trying to learn on the job. When a werewolf hunt goes bad she needs to be rescued by a vampire and the cost is being turned into a vampire and a werewolf. And you thought you had a bad day.

I loved the internal monologues that go on in Quinn's head as she tried to figure out what to do next. This satirical book kept me laughing and reading until the end. I can't wait for the sequel. ( )

Wikipedia in English

If you buy into my reputation, I’m the most notorious demon hunter in New England. But rumors of my badassery have been slightly exaggerated. Instead of having kung-fu skills and a closet full of medieval weapons, I’m an ex-junkie with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time. Or the right place at the wrong time. Or…whatever.

Wanted for crimes against inhumanity I (mostly) didn’t commit, I was nearly a midnight snack for a werewolf until I was “saved” by a vampire calling itself the Bride of Quiet. Already cursed by a werewolf bite, the vamp took a pint out of me too.

So now…now, well, you wouldn’t think it could get worse, but you’d be dead wrong.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:20:05 -0400)

▾Library descriptions

"My name's Quinn. If you buy into my reputation, I'm the most notorious demon hunter in New England. But rumors of my badassery have been slightly exaggerated. Instead of having kung-fu skills and a closet full of medieval weapons, I'm an ex-junkie with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time. Or the right place at the wrong time. Or...whatever. Wanted for crimes against inhumanity I (mostly) didn't commit, I was nearly a midnight snack for a werewolf until I was "saved" by a vampire calling itself the Bride of Quiet. Already cursed by a werewolf bite, the vamp took a pint out of me too. So now...now, well, you wouldn't think it could get worse, but you'd be dead wrong"--… (more)